iRobot, the makers of Roomba, have filed a patent for a 3D printer that produces completely finished products without the need for humans to assemble or finish off the object. The patent, discovered by 3ders, would further remove the need for labor in 3D printing and allow for more complete objects and be less prone to human error.

Typically, 3D printers can print pieces of a whole—say, the wheels, body, and axles of a toy car—which a person then assembles into a finished product. iRobot’s patent seeks to take the process a step further with a printer that can handle connectors, seams, and fasteners that lock parts together, which 3ders notes are “frequently a source of failure” in manufactured products.

The patent, filed in June, describes a 3D printer that “fuses additive and subtractive manufacturing with in-situ component placement to provide completely autonomous all-in-one product manufacturing.” The printer will include two “manipulators,” one of which has six axes of movement to hold and manipulate an item, while the other can hold and turn another item relative to the item the first one is holding to fit them together.

In manufacturing, when assembly isn’t handled by a human, most robotic assemblers have limited functionality: they can take one kind of widget and fit it to another widget. The big advantage of iRobot’s printer would be that it can streamline the process of assembly while retaining flexibility in what it can assemble; all it needs is a set of instructions. These won't be cropping up in homes anytime soon—unfortunate for those of us who are spatial-relations-challenged—but it could have big implications for factories that need flexibility in their manufacturing process.

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston

This is actually really interesting, because it sounds like they're combining the strengths of two worlds. If you can 3D print an object, and then subject it to six axis milling you're getting all the benefits of efficient material use that additive printing gives you, with the precise surface control that subtractive milling provides.

Well, I don't know much about this things but I thought this was already done in industry. I don't see the difference between assembly 3d printed pieces from normal pieces. Maybe I don't get something...

This kind of patent, if it is as described, should not be granted. They haven't invented 3D printing, and they haven't invented a machine that can assemble parts into a product, and they haven't invented the concept of an automated factory that subjects materials to first one process, then to another. So how can they get a patent just for the idea of a 3D printer that also puts parts together?

This kind of patent, if it is as described, should not be granted. They haven't invented 3D printing, and they haven't invented a machine that can assemble parts into a product, and they haven't invented the concept of an automated factory that subjects materials to first one process, then to another. So how can they get a patent just for the idea of a 3D printer that also puts parts together?

Because nobody has put the two things together into one machine (that we know of).Hence, INNOVATION!

Contrary to popular belief, "innovation" is not just creating brand new things all the time.

One step closer to the Star Trek replicator...put in a series of commands and out comes a finished product. Pretty cool I think.When will this thing be able to print me dinner? I like my Tea Earl Grey. Hot!

These MIT grads are really trying to patent stuff that has been open source for how long? MAYBE the parts welding aspect, sure, but how big is this system? Is the goal for me to buy this, log on to iRobot.3D.Testors/take-all-the-fun-out-of-building.py and run some program that allows this thing to build the parts for a 2015 Corvette Stingray, weld them together, paint it, and maybe insert a teeny tiny air freshener inside? do I have to pay Hasbro or whomever if I want to print a few G.I. Joe figures that are 2" high (but still fully articulated!)?

One step closer to the Star Trek replicator...put in a series of commands and out comes a finished product. Pretty cool I think.When will this thing be able to print me dinner? I like my Tea Earl Grey. Hot!

Until the technology matures and is miniaturized, I think this would be more akin to an industrial replicator. That's how the alternate universe DS9 (still called Terok Nor) managed to build a copy of the Defiant from plans the alternate O'brien aka Smiley stole from DS9

Again, how does such a loose patent get granted?. It combines existing 3d printer tech with existing manipulator/robot assembly tech. The drawings are little more than simplified diagrams at a high level.

So nobody else can put the two things together now without paying licence fees?